My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
It’s a thrill to cross the finish line at an event like Burghley, but rarely do we see what happens once the riders jump off. Follow Paul Tapner and Bonza King of Rouges behind the scenes after they finish their cross country round. It’s a real family affair. The pair finished 19th.
Oliver Townend’s lucky color must be gray. After winning Burghley in 2007 on Carousel Quest, Ballaghmor Class carried him to victory again today. They used up the rail they had in hand early
on in the course, but managed to jump clean with only one time fault.
It was a tough course — only five horses jumped double clear and a total of six had no fences down.
Don’t be fooled by the victory lap. Townend chose to ride Samuel Thomas. The pair finished in 21st place.
After the first rider on course, Tina Cook on Star Witness, galloped around with a double clear, speculation was rife that this year’s Burghley XC course was too easy. By the end of the day, that misconception had been put to rest as the course caught out some of the biggest names in eventing, and shuffled the lederboard considerably and leaving it open for Oliver Townend to move into the lead on a horse making his four star debut — Ballaghmor Class.
The biggest shock of the day was when Michael Jung retired La Biosthetique Sam FBW, after the gelding ran out at the first of the triple brushes at the Trout Hatchery, costing him 20 points. This was the first time the gelding had accumulated a cross country jumping penalty in his international career.
Another surprise was when overnight leader Mark Todd parted company with Leonidas II at Discovery Valley, dashing his hopes for a sixth Burghley win.
Andrew Nicholson was also eliminated after a fall at the Storm Doris combination when Quanza left out a stride but came back for a successful round on Nereo, putting him in
In the end, Tina Cook’s double clear was an anomaly. Only two other pairs made the optimum time of 11 minutes, 14 seconds. Seventy five percent of the 60 starters completed, but only fifty percent jumped clean. Fifteen pairs were eliminated or retired on course.
Stunning rides by Sir Mark Todd on Leonidas II and Lauren Kieffer on Veronica II have knocked Michael Jung from the lead after the second day of dressage at Burghley.
Today was the first day of dressage of Burghley 2017. Friday is another day of dressage and Cross Country takes place on Saturday. Don’t forget that Burghley will be live streamed, so you can enjoy a front row seat!
Nothing like a free cross country lesson from Ingrid Klimke! She and Horseware Hale Bob won the Aachen CICO3* on his dressage score of 34.5.
Gotta love those vicarious cross country experiences!
Now that you’ve seen it from her perspective, here’s the spectators’ view.
It took Andrew Nicholson 37 tries to win Badminton, but today he achieved his goal riding the 17-year old Nereo, defeating defending Badminton champ Michael Jung aboard La Biosthetique Sam FBW. This was Nicholson’s win is his biggest since coming back from neck surgery following a fall in 2015 which nearly paralyzed him.
Nicholson rode in his first Badminton in 1984. He’s been second once (2004) and third (2013). In 2013, he and Nero were in the lead after XC but lost in show jumping.
Michael Jung and “Roxie” came into the show jumping ring with one rail in hand. Turned out they needed it when they pulled a rail in the middle element of the triple combination, but they still pulled it off, becoming the first rider/horse combination to win Rolex in three consecutive years, finishing with a final score of 42.7. Kim Severson and Windsome Adante also won the event three times but not consecutively. Bruce Davidson also won Rolex three times on Doctor Peaches back when it was a CCI3*.
Below is Jung’s cross country round. It was not quite as smooth as we’ve all come to expect from him, but to watch Michael Jung ride on a “bad day” is humbling.
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In second place was Maxime Livio and Qalao des Mers, who finished on their dressage score on 44.6. This is one of the few teams that have beaten Jung and Rocana — edging them out last fall at Pau.
One of the more emotional
Zara Tindall on High Kingdom also finished on her dressage score of 46.6, putting her in a close third. Tindall was very pleased she got to ride this year. Two years ago she had to withdraw High Kingdom when he had a stable accident before dressage.
One of the emotional highlights of Rolex was the return of Phillip Dutton and Mr. Mendicott, who finished fourth, earning Dutton the 2017 USEF CCI4* National Champion as the highest placed American rider. Mr. Mendicott, an 18 year old Irish Sport Horse, last ran Rolex in 2014 where he aggravated an old tendon injury. After 10 months of rehab and two years off, Mr. Mendicott ran his final 4* in Kentucky!
